Where now for cheap flights?

Can RyanAir beat off its competitors and continue to offer cheap flights?

In a HARDtalk interview on 20 October, Michael O'Leary talks to Tim Sebastian about the future of his 'low cost, no frills' airline, Ryan Air. Can passengers continue to rely on cheap flights?

Its fans say it's democratised air travel doing more than any other initiative to integrate Europe by allowing people to fly around the continent for less than it costs to travel to the airport.

But its critics point to an abrasive customer service record and say that its controversial chief executive, Michael O'Leary, has made too many enemies.

Mr O'Leary told Tim Sebastian that he enjoys making enemies as long as they are his competitors.

"The airline business in Europe needs to be shaken up."

"It's for far too long been a cosy cartel which has which has been ripping off the travelling public. There's no reason people should be paying three and four hundred pound airfares to fly one hour flights."

Ryanair is now Europe's third biggest carrier, and in the year to March 2003 passenger traffic soared by 42%.

Profits soared by 60% to E239 million.

The Disability Rights Commission has started legal action against Ryanair and the British Airport Authority over the policy of charging people who ask for wheelchair assistance at Stansted airport.

Ryanair allows wheelchair users to travel without an extra charge but where passengers wish to use a wheelchair to get from the check-in to the departure gate, the airline has passed on the charges.

Mr O'Leary is defiant: "We shouldn't and nor will we be obliged to sell £10 air fares to people who it will then cost us £18 to get them through a building we don't own."

In August 2003 a French court ruled that Ryanair's deal with Strasbourg airport under which the local chamber of commerce helped to fund Ryanair's marketing efforts was illegal.

Now the European Commission is investigating deals offered by Charleroi airport near Brussels.

If the Commission rules that the deal was illegal, it could have significant repercussions on Ryanair's deals with state-owned airports across Europe.

Mr O'Leary is confident that the Commission will find in favour of Ryanair.

"In the history of economic activity, regulators and bureaucrats have never been able to fetter a free market. People around Europe want low fare air travel. The European Commission wants low far air travel. They're not suddenly going to introduce some rule that says, sorry we¿d all like you to go back to you all paying 500 pound airfares."

HARDtalk can be seen on BBC World at 03:30 GMT, 08:30 GMT, 11:30 GMT, 15:30 GMT, 18:30 GMT and 22:30 GMT

It can also be seen on BBC News 24 at 03:30 and 23:30